NBC Sports released its complete 2026 MLB schedule on Friday, detailing the network\u2019s return to baseball after a 26-year absence with a package that runs through 2028.<\/p>\n
The schedule<\/a> starts March 26 with an Opening Day doubleheader. Paul Skenes and the Pittsburgh Pirates visit Juan Soto and the New York Mets at 1 p.m. ET, followed by the Los Angeles Dodgers raising their World Series banner before hosting the Arizona Diamondbacks at 8 p.m. The Dodgers\u2019 game<\/a> is the only primetime MLB broadcast on Opening Day.<\/p>\n NBC\u2019s Sunday Night Baseball package launches March 29 with the Seattle Mariners hosting the Cleveland Guardians. The network will air 25 Sunday Night Baseball games per season on NBC and Peacock, including Yankees-Red Sox on June 28, Dodgers-Yankees on July 19, and a Labor Day primetime Cardinals-Giants game.<\/p>\n MLB Sunday Leadoff returns with 18 games, most on Peacock and NBCSN. NBC originally created the Sunday morning package for Peacock in 2022, but dropped it after 2023. Roku picked it up for $10 million annually \u2014 a third of what NBC originally paid \u2014 before NBC reclaimed it as part of the broader deal.<\/p>\n On July 5, all 15 MLB games will air nationally on NBC and Peacock as part of \u201cStar-Spangled Sunday,\u201d starting with Sunday Leadoff and ending with Padres-Dodgers on Sunday Night Baseball.<\/p>\n NBC\/Peacock Sunday MLB Sked pic.twitter.com\/YXchqsT2wj<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) January 9, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n NBC and MLB reached a three-year deal<\/a>\u00a0worth approximately $200 million annually \u2014 far less than the $550 million ESPN had been paying before opting out<\/a> of its Sunday Night Baseball package in February 2025. Combined with Netflix\u2019s roughly $50 million deal for Opening Night and the Home Run Derby, MLB is getting about $250 million<\/a> for what was essentially ESPN\u2019s old package, plus some additional inventory.<\/p>\n As for who will be calling all that inventory, Fox\u2019s Jason Benetti remains the frontrunner<\/a> to serve as NBC\u2019s lead play-by-play voice, while Orioles TV voice Kevin Brown has also emerged as a candidate<\/a>. NBC is also targeting Clayton Kershaw<\/a> to appear on the studio team for select events, according to The Athletic\u2019s Andrew Marchand.<\/p>\n Now that the games are set, it\u2019s only a matter of time before the announcers are too.<\/p>\n \t